Last time I stayed up all night to read a book I was around 10-13 years old and the book was Harry Potter. I’m 33 now, I stayed up all night reading the fantasy book series, ‘Cradle’ by Will Wight, on multiple occasions in the last few weeks. I devoured the 11 books(12th book isn’t out yet). Cradle has more nuggets of truth(spells of truth…) than anything I’ve come across in the past 5-6 years.

It contains the best explanation of what it means to truly know thyself I’ve ever come across. Its gives an exact explanation for how to truly know thyself with no vague guru nonsense .

The Cradle series’ explanation gives the impression that truly knowing thyself means communicating with a separate entity that is technically apart of us but its not all of us(if that makes sense).

It explains that to truly know thyself one must discover the answer to the question, “why do you want to improve yourself?” This fascinates me because it means that we do not consciously choose or have any say behind the reason we want to improve ourselves. In other words, the reason an individual wants to improve themselves has absolutely nothing to do with the conscious thoughts/choices of the individual, it’s pre-defined and immutable(unchanging). We can only figure out what the reason is, we do not choose the reason.

According to the Cradle series, to truly know thyself one must first discover the answer to the question, “why do I want to improve myself” or the question “why do I want to know the truth?” The reason cannot be chosen, it must be felt. Ask yourself, “why do I want to know the truth or why do I want to improve myself or why do I want to truly know myself” then start listing what you think the reasons are. While doing this pay close attention to your senses, when you get the prickly goosebumps you’ve found the answer.

Following your fears can help with figuring out the reason why you want to improve/know yourself. Often times, the reason has something to do with overcoming what you fear. The reason is not something unique or rare, its often embarrassingly simple.

The most important thing to remember about the Cradle series’ fascinating explanation of know thyself is that the reason why we want to improve/know ourselves cannot be consciously chosen, only figured out.

Cradle also has a magic system that is one of the best in all of fiction. The magic system includes a unique take on the aether (madra) and the concept of hunger being an unnatural force that should not exist.

Cradle also has many connections with human mythical stories. It contains a very interesting take on the dynamic between the titans(Dreadgods) and the ancient gods(Monarchs) of old.

I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet. The best part about the series is that it features some of the best fights/action sequences in all of fiction(imo).

I made a video about my thoughts on the series after I completed book 11.